Sister Lynne Therese Elwinger, OCD, prioress of the Carmelite Monastery in Eldridge, died March 11 at age 79 in Iowa City.
Following high school, she attended the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing, Magna Cum Laude. She then joined the U.S. Navy and served two years active duty and four years as a reservist, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. She served the Peace Corps in Chile for one and a half years
Then she worked as a nurse on Native American reservations and in private hospitals. Before entering the Carmelite monastery in 1990, she was a public health nurse on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. She made her first profession in 1993 and her solemn profession in 1996. She had been prioress since 2007.
Bishop Thomas Zinkula presided at the Mass of Christian Burial celebrated March 16 at St. Ann Catholic Church in Long Grove. Burial was at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Davenport.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Sr. Elwinger’s name to the Carmelite Monastery, 17937 250th Street, Eldridge, Iowa 52748-9425.
